Are You Afraid?
by Cheshire-cat-ways
Summary: Powerless and desperate, Pitch Black senses a child's fear one night-it was small, but it was all he had. In the dark of the night he travels to the far side of a town and into a child's bedroom, thinking he was fully prepared to regain his strength through their fear. Oh how wrong he was. OC! ONE SHOT! (for now) No slash, just some innocent fluff. Reviews welcome! No flames!


**Hello there! This is kind of a ramble of an idea that I had and I needed something to cure my writers block . Pitch is kind of OCC (at least at the end but that's on purpose) so don't be alarmed. Review your thoughts! No flames though there's no need for that it's just a fluffy little thing going on here. I'm not sure if I'm going to use this for a real story but if you guys really like it maybe I will make this the real thing. ENJOY~!**

A slithering shadow zoomed through the black of the night. It passed rows of houses, buildings, shops, until it came to a slow stop in front of a red brick building near the outskirts of the town. The shadow has been feeling a child's fear for quite some time now. It was faint so he couldn't really tell what kind of fear it was, but it was fear none the less. And if a child was afraid, than the Boogey Man was strong. Pitch flew through the shadows to the top most window on the left. A gray curtain blocked his view inside so he didn't know what to expect when he entered the room. Pitch Black scanned the child's room, not being able to tell if this child was a boy or a girl due to the lack of decoration. In fact, the only thing that showed the impossibly small room was being living in was a old closet, slightly left open, a coat hanger with a tiny gray coat on it, and a bed.

Pitch inched towards the bed once he spied it. He saw the irregular lift of the sheets and he guess the child was sitting underneath the blankets. A dim glow of a flashlight let him know that not only was this child awake at such a late hour, but was reading. The Nightmare King paused for a moment. Mostly he would give a sleeping child nightmares, and their fear would give him life. However, since the child was not asleep, he would have to scare them in a different way. A sharp grin graced his pale features as he slipped into a shadowy cover once more. First, he started off making subtle noises. A creak in the floor, a scratch on the wall, just things to get the kid's attention. Pitch's yellow eyes were trained on the bed, waiting for a reaction. When he got none, he frowned. Maybe the child couldn't hear him? Pitch tried being noisier, making the curtains ruffle, anything to get the child to come out from the covers. Nothing was working. Pitch growled and was just about to make a full appearance when the covers moved down and the dim flashlight became brighter. A little girl, about the age of four or five, settled the covers below her legs, a thick book on her lap-too thick for a child her age to be reading. She looked around, almost annoyed that somebody dared interrupt her reading, shinning the yellowish colored flash light around the room. Pitch smiled, now he had her attention. All he needed to do was make a few more noises to test out a fear, and once he knew what she was afraid of, he could use that to strengthen himself.

Pitch Black began to conjure black sand that turned into a big spider. He let the spider crawl on the wall and the girl eventually flashed her light on it. She gasped at first, startled but then it settled and she got out of bed. Pitch watched her curiously. A little girl not afraid of big spiders? How odd. Apparently that wasn't the only thing odd about the girl, because instead of grabbing something to squash it, she ran towards and and observed it. Pitch made the spider make sudden movements, to startle the girl again, but she didn't react. She just watched with her small mouth open slightly. Annoyed, Pitch made the spider dissolve and again the girl gasped with astonishment. Having enough of this tom-foolery, Pitch came out of the shadows gracefully and stared down at the little girl. She only came up to his knees, and had to look up very far to meet his eyes. She saw him. Which meant she believed he was real. Which meant she must be afraid of something. Pitch glowered at her and bore his teeth in a wicked smile.

"Are you afraid little one?" he asked in a smooth voice. The girl tilted her head, apparently getting over the fact that there was a tall, menacing figure in her bedroom.

"Why would I be afraid?" she asked with innocent curiosity. Pitch raised an eyebrow and began circling the small girl's frame.

"Well, I am the Boogey Man. And if you can see me, you are afraid. You believe in me. So tell me, what are you afraid of?" He drew closer, expecting the little girl to scamper back, but she just took on this thoughtful expression to true to be coming from one her age. Then she perked up and got closer to him, making Pitch lean back slightly.

"You made the spider didn't you?" she gasped. Pitch hesitated.

"Yes," he said slowly," as I said, I'm the-"

"Can you do it again?!" she squealed. Pitch choked and shook his head.

"Wh-" he began but the little girl cut him off again.

"Oh please! Please please please!" she begged, tugging on his robe. He shooed her off and rolled his yellow eyes. This child is ridiculous. A waste of his time. He glanced down at her and was stunned to see her giving him the puppy dog eyes. It caught him even more off guard. This little girl was giving him the bloody Boogey Man the puppy dog eyes. She pouted at him to add to the effect and Pitch growled. He wouldn't give in. He was the Nightmare King. The Nightmare king just doesn't fall for puppy dog eyes from little girls.

"Pretty please? I want to see." The little girl's voice rang in his ears. For the love of-

"Fine." He pinched the bridge of his nose in aggravation. He was going to regret this. He muttered small curses under his breath and came down to the little girl's level. She watched him with wide eyes as he waved his hands around, causing black sand to swirl and form into a spider. Pitch looked up at her as she gasped and smiled. A child was smiling at his black sand. Welcome to rock bottom Pitch Black. His expression remained sour as the girl reached out to touch the spider, but he quickly made it disappear. He saw what happened last time a child touched his sand, and the last thing he wanted was more power sucked out of him. Pitch stood straight again.

"There. You happy now, little thorn in my side?" he snapped. The girl shot her head up at him and for a moment he thought she was going to react to his hurtful comment, but all she did was grab a hold of his robe again.

"Can you make anything else? Oh show me! I wanna see! " she began jumping up and down. Pitch looked around, just to see if he was being pranked right now. Surely this was all some mad joke being played on him. With a sigh he motioned for her to settle down, his eyes narrowed.

"If I show you some tricks, will you let me be?" he asked. The little girl tapped her chin and thought about it. Pitch looked to the heavens. Why him? Another tug made him look back down. The little girl nodded her answer and he bent back down to her level.

"Alright then." He began to wave his hands around to form a very tiny black horse. As it neighed and trotted around, the little girl gasped.

"Cool." she whispered and it ran past her eyes. A large smile came to her mouth and she giggled. Pitch watched her closely as he made the horse evaporate and turn into a crow. The little girl followed the bird with her eyes and she made like she wanted to reach out and grab it.

"Don't touch it." Pitch said sternly. She let her eyes go from the bird, back to him.

"Why not? Will it bite?" she asked. He sighed.

"No. Just don't touch it." He waited for her to argue like all children do when adults tell them they can't do something, but again the girl proved him wrong. She stuck out her bottom lip and said,

"Okay. I won't touch it." Pitch rolled his eyes again and transformed the crow into a snake that slythered up into a coil. The whole time the girl watched entranced. Is this what he was reduced to? Entertainment for little kids? He was about to just end the show when the girl grabbed his hand. He was so shocked that the sand exploded and disappeared.

"What are you-" he raised his voice but the little girl ignored him and lifted his hand up to her eyes. She began turning it over and poking his palm, wiggling his long fingers, and staring at it. It made Pitch uncomfortable, but for some reason he didn't retract his hand.

"Are you magic?" She asked, not looking up from his hand. Pitch regained his voice and whispered,

"No."

"Hmm. Can you teach me how to do that? I wanna try it." The little girl looked into his eyes unafraid and expecting. Pitch was lost for words and became still. What is happening? He had to get out of here. Without answering he ripped his hand from the girl's grip and stood up straight. He made to head out the window but the girl squealed.

"Wait!" And he did. He looked back, against his wishes, and the girl grabbed his robe yet again.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?" Pitch growled and shook his head, again making for the window.

"Don't leave!" she cried. He sensed it. It came rushing to his being like a tidal wave. Her fear. It made him completely still and he slowly looked at her. She had his robe in her fists so tight her knuckles turned white, and her eyes were wide as saucers. He knew this fear quite well. Why hadn't he sense it before? Her fear. The fear of being alone. It was so powerful it gave him his strength again. He could feel her fear feeding him. Making him stronger. Wasn't he just like that? Fearful of being alone, forgotten, not believed in? He and this little girl were alike. He mentally shook his head. Enough of those thoughts. He needed to concentrate. If this girl's fear could give him this much power, it could be the key in fully becoming the Nightmare King again. He could finally get revenge. And to think, it would all because of an odd little girl who was fascinated by the Boogey Man. A voice brought him out of his mind.

"Please don't leave." She pouted so much that ,for a second, he thought she was going to cry, but it seemed like she was keeping tears in. Fearful and stubborn. What a combination. Pitch lowered himself down and stared at her.

"You're afraid." he noted. The little girl looked away from him and then met his eyes again.

"Are you going to leave me?" she asked softly. Something stirred in his chest. He could see himself, as a child, saying the exact same thing. As these thoughts plagued him, the little girl slowly let go of his robe ,and instead bawled her fists and looked down.

"It's okay if you do. Everyone does. I'm okay. I read so I'm not lonely. Go ahead." Pitch frowned. These words coming from a child so small and so innocent. Then, the Nightmare King did something the Nightmare King never thought he would do. He placed his large hand on top of the girl's small head, her bedhead not really bothering him. She looked back up at him, a startled and confused expression.

"I'll come back tomorrow." He made a promise he never thought he'd make.

"Really?" The girl perked up and her eyes sparkled so much he almost lost it. This was definitely not like him. He gave one final nod.

"Yes." The girl beamed and then held out her pinky.

"Pinky promise?" Pitch rolled his eyes and crossed his long pinky with her short, chubby one.

"Pinky promise." he grumbled. She suddenly threw herself at him and hugged his neck. Pitch stumbled but caught his balance. As quickly as the hug came it disappeared before he could react. The girl giggled at his expression and poked his nose.

"Since you pinky promised, you have to come every night okay?" Pitch narrowed his eyes. The girl drives a hard bargain, but he relented.

"Fine. Every night." He stood up and made his way to the window.

"And you have to show me how to do those tricks with the sand! I wanna be magic to!" He glanced over his shoulder, bemused.

"Good night, little thorn in my side." She smiled up at his words and waved.

"Night Boogey Man! See you tomorrow!" Pitch caught himself chuckling as he embraced the shadows and flitted from the window, rustling the curtains as he did. When he was gone, the little girl jumped into bed, and held her book to her chest. She had made a friend tonight. One that she felt wouldn't leave her. She leaned back on her pillow with a smile on her face and fell into a deep sleep.

Once Pitch was on the other side of the street he glanced back at the building. As the sun began to rise, he noticed a sign he hadn't when he first arrived. The building was an orphanage. Pitch frowned. The little girl was an orphan. He would definitely be coming back, and just maybe, he would take this new source of strength with him. After all, the fear of being alone is one of the most powerful fears of all.


End file.
